5 Times Spike got his Ring Back and the 1 Time he didn't
by indigofrog
Summary: Ever wondered what Buffy did with her engagement ring after Willow's will-be-done spell wore off? Here's five times that Spike managed to get his ring back, and one time that he didn't.
1. Chapter 1: Spiting

**Set at the end of Something Blue**

 **Chapter 1: Spiting**

The smell of freshly baked cookies filled the air of Giles' living room, dining room and kitchen as Willow used her culinary skills in an attempt to convince everyone to forgive her.

That was easy enough for Giles and Xander but the young wicca sensed it might take a little longer for Buffy to forget her brief engagement to William the Bloody.

Spike rolled his eyes. He was still tied to a chair in the middle of the room being force-fed pig's blood from a comedic mug. Yet, things were on the up, because this time, either by mistake or due to pity (and Spike wasn't sure which was more irritating) the slayer had failed to tie his arms up.

He enjoyed the freedom and was taking full advantage. However, he didnt want his ex-fiance to regret leaving him loose.

"Eat a cookie, ease my pain?" Willow offered the plate to Buffy, batting her eyelashes and smiling sweetly. Everyone else had taken one already and she only have Buffy's forgiveness left to earn.

Spike's too.

Buffy picked one up and took a bite, grinning as the scrumptious taste of sugar erupted in her mouth.

Typical, Spike thought. Offer one to everyone else.

"Don't I get a cookie?"

Willow looked like she might relent, pitying the neutered vampire.

Buffy, on the other hand, didn't.

"No."

"I gotta have something. I've still got Buffy taste in my mouth," he smirked, knowing he was getting on her nerves.

"You're a pig," she scowled.

"Yeah, well I'm not the one who wanted 'Wind Beneath My Wings' for the first dance." He grinned at her knowingly, sniggering as a scarlet blush coloured the slayer's blood-filled cheeks.

The rest of the scoobies looked at her with bemused and puzzled stares.

"That was the spell," Buffy lied, trying to hide her embarrassment. She grabbed a cookie and walked over to Spike.

She shoved it in his mouth - shutting him up - and turned to walk away,

Spike's hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her towards him. His fingers slid around her waist, down her back and into the pocket of her trousers over her left butt cheek.

"Spike!" she yelled, struggling against his strength.

"Get off her," Xander shouted, speeding over in an attempt to play the hero.

The rest of the room release an uproar of cries and protests.

Withdrawing, Spike's hand moved away, his fingers clenched around something, giving Xander the chance to pull Buffy out of the reach of his slimy hands.

Slap!

The slayer's hand made a loud painful noise as it made contact with Spike's face, causing Willow to wince and the cookie to fall from his mouth and break on the floor. The vampire reeled back, shocked.

"Don't you dare touch me," Buffy hissed.

"Just taking back what's mine, love," he jeered back, his teeth gritted holding up his ring for everyone to see. "I guess this means the engagement is officially over, slayer. Almost makes me sad, knowing how sad you'll be without your beloved-"

Another cookie in his mouth, curtesy of Willow, silenced him.

Spike glared but slipped the ring back onto his finger, into its rightful place.


	2. Chapter 2: Envying

**This is set during The Yoko Factor. What will happen when Angel and Riley see the ring?**

 **Chapter 2: Envying**

"You fear this one," Adam told Spike, referring to the slayer they were plotting to kill in his lair.

"Watch it, mate. I don't fear anything. I just know my enemies," Spike told him, a little offended.

"Do you?" asked Adam. "Then why haven't you killed this slayer yet?"

That was an excellent question. Why hadn't he killed Buffy?

"Because… Because I know her," the vampire realised. "Thanks to this buggering chip in my head, I know the slayer. I've lived in her house, I've had proper conversations with her, and I've let her feed me blood from a bloody mug, for Christ's sake!"

"So you feel for her?"

"No!" Spike said without thinking about it. Then he thought about it and added, "No, I don't…feel anything. But I know her, I know about her mum and her sister and her friends and I know who would be left behind without her."

"That sounds like feelings," Adam remarked.

"Well it's not! I don't fancy the slayer!"

"I never said you did."

"Jesus! Its not my fault her stupid witch put me under a spell. I was engaged to a slayer for one bloody night and it always comes back to haunt me! My reputation was ruined!" Spike snapped.

"Engaged?"

"Yeah, it was a spell and I got down on one knee and gave her a soddin' ring. A ring that she never gave back!" Spike remembered. "I'm going to get that bleedin' ring if it's the last thing I do!"

* * *

Spike strode confidentially up the stairs and down the hall towards Buffy's dorm having successfully turned her friends away from her. A couple of familiar scents drifted up the stairs with him but they were hidden under a mixture of other smells so they were unidentifiable.

Without knocking, but with the knowledge that he already had an invitation, Spike flung the door open only to be met with two of the faces her hated most in the world.

"Spike," both Riley and Angel hissed.

"Angel," he hissed in returned, ignoring the soldier. "Are you here just to ruin my life even more or in an attempt to sleep with the slayer again? 'Cos we all know that last time it made you a little too cheerful."

"What are you doing here, vampire?" Riley hissed.

"I just came to talk to Buffy," he glared, stepping around her boyfriends and towards the slayer.

"What do you want, Spike?"

"My ring."

"What?" Of everything Buffy had envisioned him saying, it wasn't that.

"My ring. I figure that if the world is ending – again – I ought to take back what's mine while I have the chance. You better not have thrown it out," he snapped. "That ring was worth something!"

"What ring?" Angel asked in confusion.

Spike spoke before Buffy had the chance.

"Our engagement ring."

The other men in the room nearly choked in surprise. "You're what?"

"Engagement ring," Spike gleefully told his grandsire. "Didn't think you were the only vampire Buffy went for, did you? Once you'd gone, she moved on to the younger male in the Aurelian line. I think she has a type," he whispered.

Shocked, Angel just looked at Buffy. "Please tell me he's lying."

She gulped. "It's a long story."

"It was a short and sweet affair, wasn't it, love? I even agreed to invite Mr Broody to the wedding. Mind you, that was only to see the look on your face," he smirked at Angel. "I'm just upset it was cancelled before the honeymoon."

Angel and Riley growled at Spike but Buffy simple wasn't in the mood for a fight.

"Just take your ring and go, Spike," she ordered. She picked up the jewellery box on her bedside table, rummaged inside and produced the ring. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic!" he replied sarcastically.

"Then leave," Buffy instructed, pushing him towards the door.

"Don't I get a goodbye kiss? For old times' sake?" Spike winked.

The door slammed in his face.

"Well that was rude!" he yelled through the wood.

Spike strolled away, grinning, and slipped the ring back onto his finger, into its rightful place.


	3. Chapter 3: Infatuating

**I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the story and so I apologise for the short chapter. I hope I'm writing everyone well and keeping them in character. If not, please tell me!**

 **As you've probably noticed, I've stolen a few lines from the amazing Joss Whedon in order to keep with the plot as much as possible. Half of the credit must go to him. This chapter is set during Shadow, in a scene loved by all spuffy shippers.**

 **Chapter 3: Infatuating**

Buffy's odour still remained on the fluffy pink jumper Spike held to his nose. It smelt of sweat, washing powder and the fruity deodorant that she always like to wear. There was a slight hint of shampoo too.

The vampire nuzzled the fabric against his nose, going dizzy with the scent.

It was a rare opportunity to have the house to himself so he decided to use it wisely, and began to search for more of Buffy's things. Perhaps there would be a top or a pair of jeans, screwed up at the back of a draw of the bottom of a cupboard which wouldn't be missed.

Adjacent to the door was a chest of drawers which he began to rummage through. Lacy underwear ran of Spike's fingers and he smiled, imagining Buffy wearing it, or even better, not wearing it.

Then his hands slid over something wooden and curious, Spike pulled it out to reveal a small box.

 _Should I open it?_ he wondered. _It would be an invasion of Buffy's privacy._

He looked around at what he was doing, shrugged, and opened the lid.

Inside were a couple of photos of Buffy and her friends, of a younger buffy holding a new-born Dawn, a necklace made of pasta and a pair of tickets to her prom at Hemery.

But they weren't what Spike noticed.

The only thing he saw was the shining skull ring which used to belong on his own finger. He hadn't seen it in almost a year, when he gave it to Buffy as her engagement ring.

God, how he had hated Willow for messing up that spell at the time? Now he was grateful for just the memory of Buffy's lips on his, of her hands on his body. He was grateful for just one night when she loved him.

Spike took out the ring and examined it.

It didn't look as though it had been touched since it had been placed in there. But the fact that it was even there meant the world to Spike. He always assumed that it ended up on a garbage dump somewhere.

Instead, it was in a box with what appeared to be Buffy's most treasured possessions.

Before he had time to ponder it further, Spike heard clumsy footsteps coming up the stairs.

He shoved the box into the draw, hurriedly replacing all the underwear on top and slammed shut the draw.

Riley burst into the room to see Spike holding Buffy's pink fluffy jumper. "What are you doing in here?"

"Errr…I was just…ummm," Spike struggled. "What are you doing in here?"

"Looking for the girl who's going to rip your arms off when she find out you were in her room," Riley snapped back without missing a beat.

"Oh yeah? Well, me too," Spike lied. If fact, he had been hoping for the opposite, praying that Buffy didn't find him there.

Riley studied him. "Were you…were you just smelling her sweater?"

Spike looked down at the clothing in his hands.

He began to deny it but soon realised there was no point. "Yeah, alright, I did. It's a predator thing, nothing wrong with it. Know your enemy's scent. Whet the appetite for the hunt," he explained.

Aggressively, Spike sniffed the sweater again, snarling as he did.

"Yeah, that's the stuff. Slayer musk. Bitter and aggravating and…"

"Out," Riley ordered.

It wasn't until he was being escorted down the stairs that Spike realised he was still clutching the ring in his hands.

As Riley pushed Spike towards the door, Spike growled at him but slipped the ring back onto his finger, into its rightful place.


	4. Chapter 4: Grieving

**Here's a long chapter to make up for the short one earlier. It's set between season 5 and 6 while Buffy is still in heaven and Spike if left alone on earth to mourn for her.**

 **Thanks for all the support so far. I would love to hear a few more reviews, positive or ideas for improvements.**

 **Chapter 4: Grieving**

Buffy had been gone for 78 days.

Spike still couldn't bring up the courage to go in her bedroom. Except, today, the Nibblet had asked him to take down some of the photos. They were planning to make a big mural full of pictures of the late, great slayer. When he had volunteered to help, he hadn't realised how hard it was going to be.

The door was shut, a layer of dust on the door handle which had remained undisturbed for so long.

After the funeral, Willow and Tara had suggested that Dawn clear out the room, hoping that it may help her grieving process.

Nibblet refused. She couldn't bear the thought of making it so final.

They all knew that Buffy wasn't coming back, but they couldn't let it go.

Even Willow had dropped the idea pretty quickly.

Taking a deep breath, Spike lifted his hand to the doorknob, unsettling the dust, and cautiously opened it, flicking on the light.

It had been preserved like a museum. The pile of washing which had been slung carelessly on the floor and the jumper left on her chair made it look like Buffy might be coming back to wear it at any moment. Everything was in exactly the same place as it had been the day they had fought Glory.

Except nothing was the same.

Buffy wasn't coming back.

Before he could lose the nerve, Spike stepped over the threshold and strode over to the wall where all her pictures were pinned up, just as she had left them.

Buffy's face filled the wall. There were photos of her as a child in LA, of her Prom at Hemery. Newer pictures were slotted around the old ones: Willow, Xander and Buffy celebrating something at the Bronze; out shopping with Dawn; Buffy and Giles in the library; her Senior Prom with Angel. There was even a huge group picture of Willow, Oz, Xander, Anya, Buffy and Riley at the college campus.

Surprisingly, Spike caught sight of a pretty girl with short brown hair, a revealing outfit, and a stern look on her face, hidden behind a smile. He guessed that was the famous Faith.

The vampire did a double take.

Next to Faith, his own picture stared back at him. He wasn't facing the camera, instead looking over at something behind the photographer, in the middle of the Bronze. It must have been one night when he was annoying the Scoobies and someone accidentally got a shot of him.

And Buffy had put it on her wall.

Before he had the chance to dwell on it, Spike snatched a few of the photos from the wall, not even glancing at which ones he was picking. As he turned around, he noticed Buffy's favourite: a picture of Buffy, Xander and Willow when they first met, on her bedside table.

Without thinking, and desperate to escape his own photograph and the haunting atmosphere of the room, Spike tore around to the other side of the bed, and seized the frame. In his haste, he knocked the small jewellery box from the table, spilling its contents across the carpet. They scattered, rolling away and disappearing under the bed.

Huffing, Spike dumped the photos in a messy heap on the duvet and crouched down to pick them up.

He swept up the necklaces and bracelets and trinkets in his hand and fitted them carefully into the chest, placing each into its own compartment.

At last, he thought he had tidied it all up and started to push himself to his feet.

That's when he saw a silver glint from under the window.

He stepped towards it and bent down to pick it up.

The shape of the ring felt familiar in his hand.

As he lifted it into the light, Spike recognised it.

It was his ring.

He gasped. Then a smile formed on his face. Technically, it was Buffy's engagement ring.

She had kept it.

Why the bloody hell would she do that?

Shocked, Spike sat on the bed, staring at the ring in his hand.

The skull still sparkled, having obviously been well cared for. As his keen eyes examined the circle, he saw signs of apparent wear and tear, as though the metal had been handled, a lot, and slipped on and off her finger over and over and over.

Why…why would Buffy wear his ring?

Only when a spot of water splashed on the face of the skull did Spike realise he was crying.

It was slowly, calmly at first. Each silent tear creating a trail down his face, over his lip, until it at last dripped off the edge of his chin. With a small _plink_ noise, the salty drops of water hit his leather trousers or his ever-present duster.

Then he lost control. The tears consumed him as he dropped from the bed and curled up in a ball, his sadness and grief taking over, moving his body for him. He clutched the ring tightly, Spike's fingers squeezing around it.

The rough edges of the skull grated against his fragile skin, scraping it away. Blood drowned the ring, soaking into each crevice and scratch just as the metal was marking his skin.

He was shaking now. Even though he didn't need it, Spike was gasping for oxygen, but all of it had deserted it. He had been abandoned by the air in his time of need.

Just as he had abandoned Buffy on the tower that night.

The scent of the warm red liquid trickling down his arms reached his nose. It smelt bland, and he was numb. He wouldn't drink it. Not here, not now. He wouldn't rot her memory like that.

But the odour was so fresh. After surviving on pig's blood for so long, how could he resist. Mixed with the smells of Buffy left in the room, Spike could almost believe it was her blood.

Spike's lips ran across the liquid. He shivered.

Slayer's blood was so-

He roared.

He wouldn't do this. Not after so long.

Shaking, his hand released the ring.

It hit the carpet and bounced, once, twice, and then rolled away. Small red spots on the carpet were the only sign that the ring had ever been there.

Spike pulled his knees into his chest and leaned his back against the bed. His sobs still made his shoulders heave.

Smearing a red mark of his own blood across his cheek, Spike violently brushed away his tears. The smell had lost all appeal now.

There were feet pounding up the stairs. "Spike! Tara's got the glue." The Nibblet called.

Spike couldn't let her see him like this.

"Are you alright, Spike?" she asked, her voice closer and the steps louder.

Hastily, his movements twice the speed of the footsteps, the vampire jumped to his feet. He took one look at himself and knew he couldn't go out there.

He looked like he had for the couple of days after Buffy jumped. Until he remembered his promise to care for Dawn, Spike had been a wreck.

Silently, he unlatched the window, letting it swing open. Glancing back around the room, Spike caught sight of himself, his picture one of the only remaining on the wall. Sensing that Dawn was still a few seconds away, he leapt over the bed and ripped it from the wall. Then he swept up the ring.

As the door handle begun to twist, Spike was back at the window. The photo in his hand was now covered in smudges of his own blood. A tear dripped onto it, wiping the red stains away. Quickly he shoved the picture into his pocket.

The door opened.

Dawn looked around the empty room.

If it weren't for the photos on the bed, she wouldn't have thought anyone had entered the room.

She walked over to the bed, looking around her as she did so. Her fingers flicked through the photos, smiling at the memories frozen on the paper.

It was only then that she noticed the breeze coming from the open window. Dawn stepped around the bed and, with a heave, yanked on the frame. She wasn't strong enough to close it and looked around for something to give her some leverage.

Out of the open window, she thought she could just glimpse a certain blond vampire disappearing into the distance.

As he ran away, Spike took a deep breath but slipped the ring back onto his finger, into its rightful place.


	5. Chapter 5: Despairing

**Thank you so much for sticking with the story. I love to read your reviews so please write them; they are so encouraging and inspiring.**

 **This chapter is set during the season 7 episode 'Potential'. It's really short again but I promise that the finale will be worth it, so please bear with me!**

 **Chapter 5: Despairing**

Spike ached everywhere, so much so that he could hardly walk and had been confined to the bed for the last three days. Although he'd been prescribed bed rest, it wasn't what he had wanted. He didn't want to dwell on what the First had said to him, had done to him.

In the end, Buffy had to organise a rota to keep an eye on him and ensure that he remained in bed.

Still he couldn't see a point. He had tried to tell Buffy about the First, what it could do, that they couldn't stop it getting inside your head.

Finally he had been given permission to get up. The vampire had spent the morning clearing space in the basement so that he could move his few possessions from his crypt once night had fallen.

He was down to the last box of Buffy's things which had remained packed up in cardboard boxes. He was moving it upstairs and dumping it underneath her bed along with the other five or six for her to sort out when she had time.

The box was heavy and filled to the brim, so much so that Spike was scared the items at the top would fall out.

As Spike mounted the stairs, he couldn't see where to place his feet and consequently missed the first step.

Spike's arms went out to save himself, sending the container went flying and the contents spilled out, tumbling down the stairs.

Groaning, the vampire got up and brushed down his coat and trousers.

"Are you alright?" Willow called down the stairs. "Need any help?"

"I'm fine, thanks, Red," he called back

"Don't be too long," she warned him. "Buffy should be back with the girls soon and she wants you to talk to them about vampire stuff."

He began to pick up the bits and bobs which had scattered across the floor. It was clothes mostly as well as a few pieces of jewellery and some make-up which the slayer obviously didn't have time for anymore.

Finally, after about ten minutes, Spike had picked everything up, refolded it and placed it tidily back in the box. Before heading up the stairs, he scanned the floor a last time to make sure he hadn't missed anything.

He had.

In the corner of his eye, Spike glimpsed something shining by the bed.

Putting the box on the floor, he crossed the room and bent over to pick it up.

"No," Spike breathed as he neared the object. "It can't be."

But it was.

He bent down and picked up his old ring which hadn't seen in years.

He hadn't seen it since he gave it to Buffy during their short-lived engagement. Why was it down here? Why had she kept it? Spike had always assumed that she would have thrown it away.

"Spike!" Willow called down the stairs again. "The potentials are back. Buffy wants you to hurry up."

"Give me a minute, Red."

There was a pause. "She says she wants you up here now. I can get the last box if you want."

"Alright," Spike sighed, climbing up the stairs.

Spike walked into the living room. He huffed at the sight of all the eager potential slayers waiting for him and slipped the ring back onto his finger, into its rightful place.


	6. Chapter 6: Loving

**Here is the final chapter which is set during 'Chosen', the final episode of Buffy! I'm so glad everyone like my story but I'm upset that it has come to an end. Follow me for more Spuffy stories, I'm sure I'll be uploading some soon and I already have one or two ideas in mind. Enjoy:**

 **Chapter 6: Loving**

The basement suddenly felt claustrophobic as the first leaned in towards Buffy.

"I'm not afraid of you," she lied.

"Then why aren't you asleep in your dead lover's arms?" the first, disguised as Caleb, taunted.

The slayer paused and glanced back as Spike who was lying on the bed. He smiled; his dreams must be good.

'Cause he can't help you. Nor Faith, nor your friends... certainly not your little wanna-slay brigade. None of those girlies will ever know real power unless you're dead. You know the drill." Caleb paused, and grinned as his features began to morph. A second later, Buffy was staring back at herself. "Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world. She alone will have the strength and skill to fight the... well there's that word again. What you are. How you'll die. Alone."

Buffy said nothing.

"Where's your snappy comeback?" roared, almost annoyed.

"You're right," Buffy whispered softly.

"Not your best" the First remarked.

"I'm drowning in footwear!" cried Spike from the bed. Buffy looked over, wondering what he was dreaming about now. He woke with a start, murmuring, "Weird dream."

Buffy remained silent and the vampire studied her. "Buffy, is something worng?"

She took her time looking back at him, something quietly building inside her.

"No. Yes. I just realized something. Something that really never occurred to me before."

He looked at her expectantly.

"We're gonna win," she told Spike, only realising it for herself for the first time.

"Love?" Spike asked, confused about what she meant.

"I've got a plan," Buffy said excitedly, running towards the stairs. She stopped and ran back towards the vampire. Ecstatic, she threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips. "Tonight, once its dark, meet me outside. I've got something for you."

Puzzled, Spike pulled on a shirt and hurried upstairs, eager to hear the slayer's strategy.

* * *

Moonlight shone across Buffy's garden. The air was cool on her bare shoulders and she wished that she had worn a jacket. With everything that had been going on, Buffy hadn't realised she was cold until now.

As the potentials and the scoobies had been hectically preparing to implement Buffy's plan as soon as possible, she hadn't had the chance to see Spike again all day, except to catch a glance of him organising the weapons or strategizing where to park their getaway vehicle.

Now, she hoped – assuming that he would come – they could finally be alone.

Out of the pocket of her jeans, she pulled out her engagement ring. In the last few months especially, she had fondled and fiddled with the small piece of metal, slipping it on and off of her finger whenever she was thinking.

Buffy smiled, reminiscing about her short engagement to the vampire. At the time, she abhorred the situation and had been determined to cast it from her mind.

Now she wished that her life was so simple, that the worst thing was a spell which gave her the most wonderful, protective and loving fiancé that she could ever wish for.

Behind her, the slayer heard the back door open and clicked shut. Hastily, she shoved the ring back in her pocket.

"Buffy."

His voice was as soft as quiet as the sighs of the wind but it made Buffy quake with fear.

What if this didn't go the way she wanted it to? How would she be able to fight without Spike by her side? Maybe she didn't want to do this.

But she wouldn't be able to fight tomorrow without doing it.

"Hey," she said, motioning for Spike to take a seat on the back step beside her.

There was a silence as both of them stared out across the garden.

"Will you wear the amulet tomorrow?" Buffy asked quietly.

"If you want me to," Spike responded with only the hesitation of a few seconds.

"I do. Just…be careful. I couldn't bear it if…" she stopped. Spike was intelligent enough to fill in the blanks.

"I will, love. But you're the slayer and someone's got to protect you," he told her, silently vowing to do so.

"That's why I wanted to talk," Buffy explained. "If anything does happen to me tomorrow-"

"It won't," Spike promised.

"But if it does-"

"I won't let anything happen to you, Buffy."

The slayer smiled and took his hands, wrapping her fingers around his. "You can't protect me forever, William." She paused and started again. "If anything happens to me tomorrow, I don't want you to do anything stupid. Don't sacrifice yourself, don't wallow in grief and don't get rid of your soul."

"Buffy, I wou-"

He was halted as Buffy place a finger on his lips.

"Promise me."

"I promise."

"There's something else.

"Anything."

"I thought I should give this back to you." Buffy reached into her pocket and took out the ring again. She dropped it into his hand.

"You kept it. After all this time?"

"Sorry!" Buffy smiled, cheekily.

Spike stared at it in shock. Since realising he loved Buffy, he had often thought about their brief engagement and wondered what happened to the ring. He had envisioned taking it back as soon as the spell broke; stealing it to make Riley and Angel jealous; finding it amongst Buffy's prize possessions; allowing it to comfort him in his grief and even discovering with her things in the basement.

Honestly, though, Spike had believed it would have ended up on a rubbish tip or at the bottom of the ocean. He had only dreamed that she would…

"Why now?"

"We may die tomorrow. I figured it was about time. It hasn't belonged to me for a while."

Spike smiled slowly before tentatively grinning. "Let's change that," only grinning more when he saw he quizzical expression. He jumped to his feet onto the grass.

"This ring has been yours since the first moment I laid eyes on you, even if neither of us knew it. Before that, even, when I was a new vampire, I was fascinated by the slayer. It turns out I was just waiting for the right one."

Then he knelt down on one knee.

"What are you doing?" Buffy exclaimed in shock.

"We may die tomorrow," Spike repeated her words. "But if we don't: Buffy, will you do me the honour, of becoming my wife."

Speechless for a moment, Buffy just stared.

Then she whispered two words.

"Yes, William."

Spike swept her off of the step and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. Their lips melded together perfectly, as if they were always supposed to fit together.

They pulled apart, smiling.

"Are you sure?" Spike asked. "You aren't doing this because we might die?"

"I'm doing it because I love you, William."

"I love you too, Buffy." Spike glanced at the house. "Do you want to break the news to them?"

She looked between him and the house awkwardly. "Can we keep this between ourselves?" Buffy begged.

"If…If that's what you want, love," Spike agreed, disheartened.

"I'm not afraid or ashamed or doing this half-heartedly," Buffy promised, planting a kiss on his cheek. "But they need to focus on the battle."

The vampire nodded but still looked disappointed.

The slayer took the finger from where he was still clutching it tightly and pulled off a long piece of string which was wrapped around her wrist. It was the string on her original cross-bow and she had always worn it for luck. She slipped the ring onto it and tied it around her neck before looking at an impressed Spike.

"Just because I don't want them to know, doesn't mean I wont wear it." Reaching out for his hand, she led him back inside.

* * *

A bright white light erupted in the caves beneath Sunnydale and the fighting instantly ceased. The slayers and vampires alike twisted to stare at its source.

The source stood beside the stairs, the amulet beaming out the supernatural rays.

"Spike?" Buffy whispered.

The beams shot out, hitting each and every uber-vamp and making the cavern seem brighter than the red-hot surface of the sun. The earth shook beneath them and Buffy's eyes widened in fear.

She tried to run towards Spike but she was frozen on the spot.

The monsters shrieked and screamed and they disintegrated into a pile of dust.

There was another rumble and rocks fell from the ceiling. Faith glanced at Buffy but her eyes were fixated on the amulet, and the vampire who was wearing it. Instead, she took charge herself. "Everybody out! Now!" she ordered.

Immediately there was a flurry of movement as all the slayers fought their way towards the exit. Buffy made it most of the way but stopped in front of Spike.

Staring at him, Buffy opened her mouth but no words came out.

"I…I can feel it, Buffy," he told her, smiling.

"What?"

They were alone now as the others had all escaped the collapsing cave and were now making their way through endless school corridors to the parking lot.

"My soul. It's really there." He grinned, almost seeming surprised. "Kinda stings," he laughed.

She started to leave but halted when Buffy realised that he wasn't moving. "Spike? Come on, let's go." He looked forlorn. "Spike!"

"I can't, Buffy."

"What are you talking about? This cave is going to collapse."

"So you need to get out of here. Now," he insisted.

"Not without you."

"Yes, without me. You beat 'em back, it's for me to do the clean-up."

"Buffy! Come on!" Faith yelled from up the stairs while Buffy stood, split about what she should do.

"I can't leave you, Spike."

"Yes you can," he insisted. "It's fair to say that school's out for bloody summer. Go!"

"Spike…"

"I mean it. I've gotta do this," Spike begged now.

"No," she cried as tears formed in her eyes. "No, we were going to get married." She held up the ring which rested around her neck.

"Marriage is just a bit of paper, but to know that you would have married me…that's all I've ever wanted, Buffy," he confessed, his eyes watering too.

Pain rushed through Spike's body and he cried out, raising his right hand as light poured out of the amulet and Buffy shielded her face. She stepped towards him, despite the light and the heat that were being emitted, and interlocked her fingers with his.

There was a moment of silence before both their hands burst into flames, yet while Spike winced, Buffy felt nothing.

They couple hardly noticed, focusing instead on one another.

"I love you, William."

"I love you, too, Buffy."

She leaned in towards him and without the usual hesitance, Buffy planted her lips on top of his, the flames spreading across their bodies, bonding them together.

The floor began to shake – pulling them apart - as rocks tumbled from the ceiling, one only narrowly missing Buffy.

"It's your world up there. Now go!" he ordered, pushing her away towards the staircase.

Casting only a final forlorn glance back, Buffy hurried up into the school and sprinted down the corridors for the last time.

"I wanna see how it ends," Spike said to himself.

The flames that had surrounded him earlier consumed him, engulfing his body in a fiery heat as a bright white light soared from the amulet. He laughed as the rocks around him fell.

"Buffy…"

* * *

"I don't understand," Giles murmured in an out-of-character confusion. "What did this?" He looked over at his slayer and watched a tear trickle down her cheek.

"Buffy?" Dawn asked, concerned. "Are you..? Buffy?"

"Spike," she breathed.

"Pardon?" Giles said.

"Spike," Buffy choked on the word as a sob poured out of her throat. "It's was Spike."

She dropped to her knees.

Instantly Willow and Dawn crouched at her side, resting an arm around her shoulder and comforting her from the unknown problem.

Buffy reached behind her neck and pulled her ring off of the string, clutching it between her fingers and letting her tears fall freely onto it.

Her friends look at one another, unable to understand why Buffy was breaking down. Was it shock? Was she hurt? Was it happiness that it was finally over? Or was it something else?

"It's over," Willow finally told her. "We did it, Buffy. We won. We survived."

She wept harder. "Not all of us," she cried, her voice inaudible.

"I...I don't understand," Dawn admitted as Faith walked around and crouched down in front of Buffy. "Why are you-"

"You loved him," Faith told her, only just realising it herself. "Didn't you?"

In answer, Buffy took Faith's hand and closed hers around it, passing down thing over to her.

Faith frowned in puzzlement, opening her hand.

Resting in her palm was a skull ring, the metal glistening in the light of the sun.

"You were..?" Faith gasped in surprise as she guessed the extent of their relationship. "When did he..?" She asked, unable to form full sentences.

"Last night," Buffy sobbed. "What am I going to do now?" She fell into her fellow slayer's arms, tears streaking down her face and removing the traces of the battle. "My whole life is gone," she gestured to the crater where her home once stood, "and without him…"

Faith took Buffy's hands in her, running her fingers over the creases and cuts, and closed Buffy's hands around the ring. "You're going to grieve. And I won't lie, it's gonna hurt like hell. But at some point, whenever you're ready, you're gonna come out the other side. Although it may not feel like it, your life will move on."

"Yeah," Willow joined in, even though she had no idea who or what they were talking about. "We changed the world. I can feel them, Buffy. All over, there are Slayers awakening everywhere."

"We'll have to find them," Dawn realised.

"We will," Faith agreed. "But not yet, right, Buffy? Whenever you're ready."

The slayer stared into one another's eyes, a silent promise, and Buffy, on the spur of the moment engrossed Faith in a hug. "We did it," she whispered.

"Yeah, but now you're gonna get my hoodie covered in tears." Buffy laughed. "That's not a joke! I wanted it as a souvenir!"

The girl cried laughing, tears rolling down their face in a mixture of both grief and relief. Eventually, they helped each other up and joined the rest of the scoobies who were looking down over the edge of the crater.

"I…No one else knows," Buffy told Faith quietly. "About Spike and me, that is."

Faith said nothing.

"Can we…can we keep it between us?"

The brunette nodded.

Everyone stared silently into the pit. Suddenly, they all jumped as the 'Welcome To Sunnydale' sign that they were all so familiar with, fell backwards and tumbled down the slope.

Buffy smiled a little as she realised that – once again – it was Spike who had knocked it down.

She took a deep breath as she opened her hand and took another look at the ring. Another tear trickled down her cheek as she slipped the ring back onto her finger, into its rightful place.


End file.
